Chelmsford Area 

Chelmsford train station in the City Centre provides a range of services into London as well as direct services to Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea, Harwich, Braintree and Norwich. Trains from Chelmsford to London Liverpool Street can take as little as 32 minutes and run frequently.

There are a wide range of bus services in Chelmsford, including school buses, a route out to Harlow and a route serving Southend and Stansted airport. There are also two park-and-ride services, one in Sandon and one in Chelmer Valley.

The A12 from London to Colchester is easily accessible and provides a convenient route into the capital and the rest of Essex. There are two other main routes through the city: the A414 runs east to west, while the A130/A131 runs roughly from north to south.

Chelmsford is just a 30 minute drive from London Stansted Airport and London Southend Airport, with quick and easy connections to Europe as well as a few long haul routes.

• Britain’s first ever public audio broadcast was made from Chelmsford on June 15, 1920. The broadcast featured the singing of Australian opera diva, Dame Nellie Melba. It was said to have been received as far away as Newfoundland.
• In fact, Chelmsford is the birthplace of radio after Marconi opened the world’s first wireless factory in the town in 1899.
• Chelmsford was once the capital of England for a few days when the seat of Government was temporarily moved to the town,600 years ago.
• Chelmsford was also the home of West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst, the only man to ever score a hat-trick in the football World Cup final.
• The Romans built a small town on the site of Moulsham – it was called Caesaromagus, which means Caesar’s market place, and it was used as a local market town halfway between London and Colchester. However, after the Romans left Britain in 407 the little Roman town disappeared.
• Chelmsford as we know it was created in the Middle Ages. At the time the land on the site of the town centre belonged to the Bishop of London and in 1100 the Bishop, Maurice built a bridge across the River Can. As a result traffic which used to travel through Writtle now diverted through Chelmsford.
• Chelmsford Cathedral is the second smallest in England, runner up to Derby Cathedral.
• Chelmsford was previously called Celmeresfort.
• Henry VIII purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built Beaulieu Palace on the current site of New Hall School. This later became the residence of his then mistress, and later wife Ann Boleyn.
• Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Adam and the Ants, Siouxie and the Banshees, Oasis and Radiohead have all played gigs in Chelmsford.